Amazon sword help please!!!

B

Breababy

Registered Member
Oct 17, 2010
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Ok.. Here it goes.. I have a beta fish.. He's new.. I bought a big bowl, gravel and a amazon sword plant today.. I just planted the the root in the gravel and the leaves are popping out of the top in the air. It's only been 40 minutes and already some leaves are wilting. Is this normal? I don't want them to die. I remember my dad had a plant in his beta bowl and her let the roots float on top and the roots grew through the water. I asked him why he did this and he said it gave the beta oxygen. I doubt this is the same plant but I just don't want to mess this up. I just read so much online but didn't really get all my questions answered so I found you all on google and figured I could get some help over here. Hello by the way:) my names breann and I am very inexperienced when it comes to this stuff. Thank you all!!! Looking forward to discussing this with you all! (also I ready online it says little to no light required and then I read on here people talking about lamps? I don't have all that equipment and hope I'm not being irresponsible! Ttys:)
 
Welcome.

Amazon swords are fully aquatic,and need to be completely submerged.
 
hi Breann! welcome to AC!

as chevelle said, amazon swords need to be fully submerged in the water, including the tips of the leaves, or else they will wilt and dry out.

you may want to consider getting an actual tank, with heater and filter, for your betta. he will be much happier and healthier that way. a 10 gallon tank, 50 watt heater, and a small 'hang on back' filter will do you well. and then you'll have enough room to watch that amazon sword get huge! really, they do get enormous. i have two in my 55 gallon and if i pulled the leaves taut they would be sticking out of the water.

once again, welcome! and ask as many questions as you want/need, we are here to help! :)
 
Hello!

The amazon sword is not the ideal plant for that setup. You can go to the store and pick up some of that 'lucky bamboo' and plant that in your tank.

I believe the amazon sword can be grown emersed, but it would need to be completely out of the water (like in a pot in a window sill), or in a riparium or paludarium type setup (you can Google those to find out what they are).
 
Seems like they have you covered already. Amazon swords need to be fully in the water to grow. I've tried to grow them in pots like mentioned by Coach, but haven't had any luck. Amazons get HUGE and would quickly out grow a betta bowl if it was growing. Also I noticed you mentions that you are using no light source, your probably going to need one, if it's low light plants they still need some light. You can either put the bowl near a window (which will most likely give your algae issues) or you can might be able to get away with using a normal house bulb. I've grown Java Fern, Java Moss, Anubias, and Amazon swords under regular bulbs found a home depot.

With that said I highly recommend upgrading to a 5-10 gallon tank, with a small filter and heater to go with it. I'm really against all those stores that keep bettas in tiny bowls and cups.
 
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I agree with all of the advice above. Any kind of fish living in a bowl will not live for very long and will become stunted. As for the plant, they need to be fully submerged, and need to be in warmer water than house temp.

You can find some great deals on fish tanks on craigslist, just make sure your not getting scammed. Good luck!
 
reply to all of you who responded

Ok, it's me, breann again.. replying to all of you.. I have read all about this plant and it claims that the amazon sword plant can grow completely submerged.. with gravel around the roots or grow with an open tank and the leaves to grow out of the tank. I also read that this plant releases good stuff to the fish.. which is why I bought it... I also thought it would give something nice to the fish tank. I actally have a male and a female both in separate big bowls.. I can't afford two huge 10 gallon tanks.. let alone one. I suppose I should just throw them out then.. Seems like all the sites that I've researched were giving false information.. I'm so bummed. I'm not trying to have the fish feed off the plant like the plant/beta/vase setup like people sell because I think it's cruel. The fish cannot live like that.. and they tell you to never change the water? They should boycott that.. I was just trying to make it look nice and have it be beneficial to the beta.. I guess that's not going to work.. total bummer.:thumbsdown:
 
Breababy said:
I can't afford two huge 10 gallon tanks.. let alone one. I suppose I should just throw them out then..
Click to expand...
Throw out the fish?? Don't do that!!

You could get a 5 gallon and divide it. If that is still not in your budget,just change the water in the bowls every other day,and only feed every other day. Save up your pennies until you can get them a filtered,heated tank. A 10 gallon would be best,but a 5 would work.

Where do you live? There are always cheap 10 gallons on craigslist. Or if you are close to me, I have a 10g I will give you,equipment and all.

Don't give up on your fish. This can be a very enjoyable and fulfilling hobby. Although the initial startup of a tank can be expensive,but there are ways to lessen the expense.
 
I don't mean get rid of the fish.. I mean get rid of the amazon sword plant. I live in Wareham, Ma. How much do they go for anyways..Say I got a 10 gallon one.. how do you seperate it?
 
"Like most Echinodorus species, it grows well both submersed and emersed. In nature, these plants are more often bog type plants with the roots submersed and the leaves up above the water. The floral stalk is thin and comes up out of the water. It may have four to nine white flowers forming on the nodes on the stalk. If left in the water, these flowers won't open. Emersed however, they open nicely and can be fertilized with a feather."

from... http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/6-Stangel-Echinodorus-amazonicus-Aquarium-deko-INV-/280409302952

one thing i see as an issue... is it e. bleheri or e. amazonicus?... http://plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=4&filter_by=18

tropicas listing... http://www.tropica.com/plants/plantdescription.aspx?pid=071
some more from tropica... http://www.tropica.com/advising/technical-articles/production-articles/emergent-plants.aspx
http://www.tropica.com/advising/technical-articles/production-articles/improved-adaptability.aspx
http://www.tropica.com/advising/technical-articles/production-articles/mineral-wool.aspx

in this video by tropica you can see E. bleheri being planted into the aquarium from it's emersed state. notice they cut the roots and pull off some leafs so it can begin growing new ones that are suited to it's new environment with as little shock/melt as possible...
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the real problem i see here is that emersed growth "aquarium" plants should either be slowly adjusted to emersed growth with an "ebb and flow" or slow tidal/seasonal lowering of the water... or (and this is really where things went wrong imo) need to be kept in a very high humidity setting.

now, once again... i don't know if it's an "amazon sword", E. bleheri, E. amazonicas, another sword plant from the amazon basin... but i think it's safe to say it'll grow pretty well with the right humidity... so, in a closed top setup to keep humidity in. unfortunately it may be too late for that now but at least you know for the future.
 
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